The Exploding Man
by HeroesEmmaLee
Summary: In a world where the Kirby Plaza Explosion isn't stopped, 5 years later, the world is still in peril. After loosing more than he had, Peter goes on the quest of time to stop it from happening. But in fixing the past, he may be loosing his future.
1. Chapter 1

_It was just another day, just another day _Niki told herself. But in reality, it was the biggest day America has ever seen. It was 5 years. 5 years since the world had changed forever. 5 years of pain and regret. And forgetting. She watched Nathan move across the TV screen and onto a pedestal. It was his fault. His fault that she lost everything, everything that was good in her life. D.L. by Sylar, the exploding man, and most importantly, Micah. By the explosion, the one that she just happened to live through in New York City. It was like she had died though, as a lot of people like her felt. Her life was pretty much a living nightmare after that day. Doom's day. October 17, 2006. The day that changed the world.

**.Flashback.**

Niki and D.L., her ex-husband, went looking for Micah in Kirby plaza. She lost D.L. then, he said he was going to kill Linderman, then he was gone. Niki found Micah and took him outside, lead by Suresh, Noah Bennet, and the young Molly Walker. Peter, Niki's undisclosed boyfriend, and the father of her unborn child, started fighting Sylar, the killer, as his hands started to glow and Niki's eyes grew wide. It was the supposed explosion in Linderman's office and the talk of everyone here. She wasn't going to lie to herself; she was scared. Claire, Nathan's daughter and Peter's niece, held up a gun at Sylar and started crying as she was uncertain or not to pull the trigger. Niki held Micah tight, scared for the life of her lover. She felt like screaming for Peter to get away from there, but she quieted herself. Suresh went to tend to the injured Matt Parkman, who was hurt by Sylar, as Molly clung to her. The doctor and Noah Bennet carried the poor guy inside the building, supposedly to a helicopter. It took Niki time to realize that she was left alone on the sidelines, with Molly and Micah depending on her to keep them safe. She felt sorry for the girl, and put an arm around her and another around her son. Nathan, the sleazy politician Jessica once slept with, left with his family in a helicopter hours ago. Just like him, looking out for himself. Niki gulped and watched Peter get knocked down by Sylar as she winced. Claire screamed as she ran to Peter, who just got back up and kept fighting. Two Japanese guys popped out of nowhere, and one yelped for Niki to go to him. She took her son and Molly and lead them slowly to the them as one of Japanese guys left to fight Sylar. The one left, short and stubby with round wire glasses and pointy hair, motioned for the taller, buffer-looking one to come back, but Sylar had already knocked him down. Niki knew what ability he had, as she started to talk to him over the loud noises.

"Can you get us out of here?" She asked. The Japanese guy nodded as he looked worryingly over to his friend. She took Micah's hand as he looked at her, concerned.

"We have to go back for Dad!" Micah said as he let go of his mother's hand and ran quickly into the Kirby Plaza Building. Niki let go of Molly and tried to run after Micah, but before she could even yell for him, She found herself back in a Las Vegas club, with Molly and the Japanese guy. He seemed to try to go back, but he couldn't and Niki couldn't understand him as he mumbled in Japanese. She looked around quickly and screamed for Micah. But it was no use. The time-traveler couldn't get back. Micah was stuck there, to die. Niki ran her hand over her stomach, trying to feel around for the small bump that was Peter's baby, as she kneeled down on the floor and started to cry. Realizing what just happened, Niki had nothing left to do but cry.

**.End Flashback.**

Angrily, she threw the glass at the television and she put her hands on her temple. It was his idea to blow up New York, and it was him who killed her son. Him and thousands of others. And now he was the President of the United States. Peter ran out of the break room and looked up at Niki sitting angrily at the bar. Niki had forgotten the scar now; Peter had it ever since the explosion. He hugged her from behind and wiped up her tears as he kissed her softly on lips. She pulled away softly and looked at him, sadly. He sat next to her at the bar in the club as he whispered.

"Are you okay?" He said, looking at the cracked television screen. Niki nodded, not looking at him.

"It's just another day." Niki nodded as she slowly looked over to him. "It's called 'letting go'."

"It's okay to cry, you know. You lost your son, Niki." He put a hand to her cheek and she swatted it away.

"I want to see Grace."

"Is that the best idea? Today of all days?" Peter looked at her, and Niki all of sudden didn't feel like talking to him. All she wanted to do was see her daughter, the only one who soaked up the pain.

"I'll call Suresh. He'll have her ready." Peter took one last look at her, as she looked straight ahead wiping her tears away, and he walked quickly into the break room again.

Grace brought every ounce of happiness to her, the only one who made her smile, other than Peter. But it was difficult to see her. Peter and Niki had special arrangements so Suresh could take care of her there, at the hospital. She had a bad case of it. The Shanti virus, they called it. And their daughter was the 3rd case, after Shanti, Mohinder's late sister, and Molly Walker, who was fully cured. She was only 4 and half years old, powerless, so far, but the disease was deteriorating Grace's nervous system, also denying any future abilities, and since she was so young when she was diagnosed, it acted up often. Suresh's blood was the only known cure, but it only stabilized Grace temporarily. She would be very sick some days Niki came. It broke her heart to see her daughter in pain. But today was different, and as Peter walked back in and nodded, Niki felt hope in seeing her daughter. She would be the cure to Niki's problem; pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Over the years, the guilt had left him. But he never forgot. The scar on his face, the pain of his girlfriend, and the terrible pity he felt for his daughter. He was different now. The explosion taught him many things, and the most important one was that you don't always have to save the world. But one thing he was going to do today; He was going to save his daughter.

Suresh explained that enough of her nervous cells had multiplied, and studying in nursing school more than 7 years ago enabled him to understand what that meant; Grace was healing. Slowly, but she was. Mohinder told him they could finally take her home in a few weeks, for the first time since she was 2 years old. Grace always had a way to lighten up any day. Niki was different around her, and Peter felt at ease, feeling like he could just let go when he held her in his arms. Her eyes were hazel; changing from green like her mother's to a light brown like Peter's. Her smile melted you inside and her skin was pale, with a faint pink on her cheeks when she smiled. Grace Hope Petrelli was, by far, the most beautiful child Peter had ever seen.

He took Niki's hand and half smiled as she let go and walked past him, down the familiar hall ways of the hospital and into the elevator. Peter pressed the button, #11, the floor he had to press for 2 years to find his daughter. Niki took his hand once again and he interlocked their fingers as she blushed, and then looked at her reflection in the brass elevator door. She looked worried as they flew up the stairs. It would've been easier to just fly up, the way his brother Nathan did, but Niki forbade it. Niki forbade any use of his abilities after the explosion. Her happiness went away the day Micah died, and it came back every time she saw Grace. But he still loved her, everything about her. He would protect her from anything and he hated making her feel pain.

Peter never told Niki. He never told anyone. What would they think of him? What would they think if they knew that Sylar was still out there? That he never died. That it was Peter who blew up half of New York. It pained him night after night those first months, but he kept quiet as Nathan said to do. After that, Peter rarely saw his brother, for he was busy working his way up to the white house. He stayed with Niki and helped her through the pain of the explosion, and as their little girl was born. Niki wouldn't stand for it if she found out it was Peter who killed her son, so he kept quiet. And slowly and painfully, the guilt went away. But he still had the scar, right across his face. And that, would always be there.

He put a hand on Niki's back as she looked at him, looking as if she were about to cry. He hugged her softly.

"Jessica's gone. You can look in the mirror all you want, but the only one who's looking back is you." He heard her weep as he pulled away and wiped her tears away with his thumb. He faked a smile for her.

"Hey, it's okay. We're going to see her now." She nodded as she wiped the rest away and the elevator came to a stop on Grace's floor. Niki held Peter's hand as they walked all the way down the left hallway , stopped at their daughter's room, and saw Grace sleeping through the glass window in her bed, hooked up to the IV in her arm. Niki smiled at the sight of her daughter. Suresh saw Niki and Peter through the window and opened the door.

"Come in, come in." He grinned as they sat down on the small chairs in her room. "I have some good news." Niki's face lit up.

"I told Peter, but I'll tell the whole story. A few weeks ago, Grace crashed and started having the seizures, and we bumped her dose on the IV and I gave her more blood to keep her stable. But, I took a few desperate measures, because the crashing was becoming more and more common, as were her white blood cells. I wasn't going to let her die like my sister had. I paid a visit to Noah Bennet, and although he was resentful, I was able to get a case of this." The doctor held up a small vile of blood.

"What's that?" Niki asked as she looked over to Grace.

"This, is the blood of Claire Bennet. Her blood can heal Grace nearly completely! Unless it starts up again, she could be cured!" Niki grinned as she went up to Mohinder and hugged him.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said happily and softly, so she would be sure not to wake up Grace. Peter looked at Suresh, confused.

"Claire Bennet's dead." He said softly as Niki looked over to him, losing her smile as Mohinder nodded.

"She's alive. She was left in the explosion, but she regenerated. As of right now, Claire is in hiding, but she's alive, Peter." He grinned, hearing the news. All these years, Peter thought she was dead. Another haunting pain now went away as he let out a small chuckle. He hugged Niki as he looked over to Grace, as she was starting to open her eyes.

"Grace was just napping. She's starting to wake up, and you can tell her the news. I'll tell you more later." Suresh grinned as he left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving Grace to be alone with her parents.

Niki smiled as she walked up to her daughter and kissed her forehead as Grace looked up at her sleepily with one of her famous grins.

"Mommy! I missed you." She smiled, showing her small white teeth as Niki hugged her and set Grace down on her lap. Peter walked over to sit next to her as Grace smiled at him as well.

"I missed you too, baby." Niki looked over to Peter as he smiled. "We have some very happy news to tell you." Grace straightened her look and smiled, looking curiously as Peter took a seat on Grace's bed, and she climbed onto his lap.

"In a few weeks, you'll be all better. No more hurting. No more IV." Grace grin wider. "And Mommy and Daddy will be able to take you home. How would you like to go home?" She nodded as she threw her arms around Peter and he stroked her back and chuckled. Niki smiled at him.

"I want to go home! When can I come home with you?"

"Dr. Suresh said in a few weeks, once they give you a new medicine." Niki grinned, and she felt happy telling her daughter this. Grace smiled at her again.

"What does home look like?" Niki glanced at Peter and laughed softly as Peter removed hair from Grace's face.

"Well, your room is pink, and we have to go and get you a new bed because I don't think that you want to sleep in a crib, do you?" Grace laughed as she shook her head no.

"Daddy, I'm a big girl. I need a big girl bed!" Niki hugged Grace from behind as she laughed and hugged her back. These were the times Peter never wanted to take back. All of a sudden, Suresh walked back into the room with a needle in his hand as Grace's smile resided.

"I'm so sorry, it's 4'oclock. I have to give her a dose." Niki looked at Grace as she looked sadly at Mohinder.

"But doctor Suresh, I want to stay with my Mommy and Daddy." Suresh walked closer to her as she started to get teary-eyed. Peter took her into his arms as he wiped away her tears and smiled for her.

"Hey, we'll be back later. And soon, all you'll have to do is wake up and we'll be there. You'll see me and your mom so much; you'll get sick of us. You just have to hang in there. Can you do that for me?" Grace nodded her head but kept crying as she looked at Niki.

"I don't want to stay here. I want to go home with you." She gave him a puppy dog face as he hugged her again. It hurt him so much leaving her here. And he had so much pity for her, he wanted to do anything to make her happy. Niki hugged her once, and Peter saw she was near tears herself.

"A little bit longer. You can do that can't you?" Grace's eyes wandered around the room, and for a long time she said nothing. Then she looked at Niki and spoke up.

"When you take me home, can we have Macaroni and Cheese and Lemalade?" Niki smiled at the way she said "Lemonade" as she nodded.

"You can have anything you want, okay?" Niki said as Grace smiled again and hugged her. Then she returned her glance at Mohinder.

"Okay, I'm ready Doctor Suresh." She came to Peter once again and hugged him tight as she pulled up her shirt-sleeve and smiled weakly at her mom and dad. Mohinder half-smiled as Peter took Niki's hand, and quietly walked out of the hospital room.


	3. Chapter 3

Hiro Nakamura took another tum-tac from his clear box, and stuck it onto his blue string that crossed Sylar's black one. It was a timeline he'd been working on since the explosion. He was going to go back, and save the world. He just had to figure out the precise time when. Hiro had stood there waiting around when he should've done something. Now, the government thought of him as a terrorist, and the world was damaged. He quickly looked over his shoulder, just too make sure they wouldn't be after him again. It was 5 years today, which means they would be working harder than usual. He looked briefly at the artwork in Isaac Mendez's former loft, the place he learned to call "home." Or, at least the place he'd stop to make the timeline. Just as he turned back to the newspaper clips he'd cut out onto the blue string, his phone had buzzed, and an unknown number had showed up on his caller ID. Hiro picked it up and hesitated whether to answer it or not, then bleakly picked it up and paused before he said a mere "Hello."

"Hiro," Was all he had to say for Hiro to know who he was.

"I told you not to call me on this number anymore." Hiro said, subtly as he heard Peter sigh through the phone.

"Claire Bennet's alive."

"Don't be impractical, Peter, Claire Bennet's been dead since the explosion."

"Suresh has a case of her blood. It's going to heal my kid. He said she's in hiding." Hiro panned over to Claire's red string and carefully took down the explosion line from hers and rolled out more of the red string to continue it on. He was quite pleased at the news, now, maybe he was closer to stopping the bomb.

"We should go find her, right?" Hiro asked.

"No. I'll call Noah. He'll send the tracking device and we can find her that way. It's safer for Claire if we do it this way." Hiro nodded as he stared blankly at the red line.

"How fast can he get the tracking system over to us?"

"If I recall, maybe a day. Noah said it broke down sometimes, but that was 5 years ago."

"Okay. I'll call back when it's safe, in the next 24 hours. Let me know then when it arrives." Hiro hung up the phone, and slowly set it in his black robe pocket as he followed the red string all the way to the explosion once again. He smiled as he took a scissor and cut it from Claire's line. Claire Bennet was alive. This, was good news.


	4. Chapter 4

Niki walked into Grace's room and smiled to herself seeing all the baby things they had left to replace in the room. The last night had been painful to sleep through, and Niki rubbed her temple as Peter walked in and hugged her from behind. She heard him sigh as he put his chin on Niki's shoulder.

"It's over, Nik. We'll have her home in a few weeks and all the pain will be over." He kissed her cheek and she smiled, turning her head to look at him. He then took her into his arms, resting his chin on her shoulder once again.

"I'm expecting a package, and I have to go take care of things down stairs. Can you let me know if it gets here?" Niki smirked, then sighed as she hugged him tighter, whispering.

"Of course you are." She looked into his eyes, seriously. "I don't want all this 'save the world' crap when Grace gets here. Okay? She doesn't know about it, and I want to try and keep it that way."

Peter nodded, as he kissed her forehead and smiled at her, as he walked away down the stairs to the break room.

Minutes later, Niki opened a box of Advil and poured a glass of water to take it with. As she was about to take it, she heard a knocking on the door and thought it could be Peter's mail. She was surprised to find a teenaged girl, maybe 16 or 17 years old standing in front of her doorstep with a paper in her hands, smiling up at her. She had long brown, curly hair tied loosely in a ponytail in the back of her head, with some curls on the sides of her face. She had deep blue eyes, and dimples as she smiled at Niki. The girl wore an amount of jewelry on her neck and wrists and wore a dark tank top that matched her dark eye-makeup. Niki looked curiously at her as she spoke up.

"This is where I can find Peter Petrelli, am I right? He's expecting me." Niki was confused. Peter told her he was expecting a package, not a teenaged girl.

"Um…. Yes, you said he was waiting for _you_?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry, he may have told you he was expecting a tracking system. Well, that's me. Sorry I wasn't so clear. My boss told me Peter really wanted to see me." She smiled as Niki held out her hand.

"I'm Niki, Peter's… friend, nice to meet you."

"Oh, I've had the pleasure."

"I'm not sure I know what you mean…."

"It was a very long time ago. You may not remember me; I've grown up since the last time you saw me, Niki." The girl started laughing as she shook Niki's hand. "I'm Molly."

Niki thought hard, because the girl was now painfully familiar as it suddenly came to her. "Molly….. Molly, Walker?" She nodded as she smiled.

"You're not the first who hasn't recognized me. I've grown up. I'll be 17 in a few months."

"My god, Molly Walker. It's been so long… It's amazing how I thought 5 years passed by so fast. You look so different."

Molly grinned. "May I?" Niki nodded and she walked into the apartment and looked around. "I'd love to catch up, but I really must find Peter. Where can I find him?" Niki closed the door slowly.

"He's down stairs. To the left is a sign that says "Break Room". It also says employees only, but you can go in. He's there." Molly smiled as she hugged Niki.

"It was so nice to see you again! I hope next time we can have time to talk." She pulled away and smiled, as she walked out the front door and down the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

Peter and Hiro paced patiently around the room as they thought about the tracking system. It would be here today, and they would be able to find Claire, Noah, and Parkman, so they could try, after all these years, to finally stop the explosion. Peter had stopped when he heard a heartbeat, slow and steady, coming closer. Coming into the break room….

Peter darted to the door and opened it before the person outside could do it themselves. A confused looking teenaged girl stood before him, smiling up at him. She wore dark makeup and clothing, and had curly brown hair, Peter noticed quickly, as she grinned and hugged him.

"Peter, I missed you so much! Nowadays, _you're_ my hero." Peter hugged the girl, not remembering her, or who she was. He 'looked' into her head, but all he heard was what she was thinking to him: "I know you don't remember me, I've been getting that a lot lately. I'm Molly, you're tracking device. It's been a long time since you've seen me." He pulled away and stared at her as he hugged her back and smiled.

"Molly Walker….. you've grown up so much! It's so nice to see you. I just didn't think it would be you to help me." Hiro looked over to Peter as he walked closer to Molly.

She grinned seeing him. "Hiro? You're here too!" She hugged him and he returned the favor. "I get to see both my heroes in one day. This is great!" Molly pulled away and smiled.

"We called Bob… Why did he send you?" Hiro asked as Molly took a seat on the couch in the break room. Peter shut the door.

"I hang around there a lot. I help people like us, in situations like these. You need me to find people for you, am I right?" Peter nodded and sat on a stool next to her. Molly took out of her messenger bag a box of push-pins and a United States map. She laid the map on the coffee table and took out of the small box a blue push-pin. Peter and Hiro watched closely as she glanced up at them.

"Okay, so how does this work?"

"In my head, the way I find people is like finding a file in a huge file cabinet. I have a file for everyone; every living person in existence. And if I think about them, it's like I look into their file and I can find out where they are. Like…" Molly closed her eyes and spoke to them.

"In your family last name file, Peter, there is Angela Petrelli, Nathan Petrelli, Monty Petrelli, Simon Petrelli, Peter Petrelli, Heidi Petrelli, and Grace Petrelli." She winced a little bit as she thought. "Everyone related to you in your last name origin is in Washington D.C., because of President Petrelli, I'm assuming. Everyone except for you, Peter, and Grace. You're here, with me, and….. this, Grace is in a hospital." Molly opened her eyes. "Who's Grace?"

Peter looked at Hiro, wondering if they should tell Molly. No one would ever know. But she worked for Bob now, and Molly knowing anything about Grace could lead them to her. And they couldn't take her away, not when they would just be getting her back. Molly closed her eyes tight once again.

"She's at St. Joseph's Hospital, 4 miles west of here. On the 11th floor, room 2749. I see her; she's a little girl. She's asleep, and her heartbeat is recorded on an IV. What's she doing there?"

"She has the Shanti virus." Peter said softly as Molly looked at him.

"How do you know her?" Molly asked, looking at Hiro, then at Peter.

"I promised her mother I would never tell her existence to someone from the company. Molly, I've known you since you were 10 years old, but you got involved with Bob and Elle and the whole company and I can't back out on a promise."

Molly shook her head, and she closed her eyes as she talked to them. "She's sick. There are doctors giving her medicine."

"Listen, Molly, I really need you to find people other than my daughter." Hiro's eyes grew wide as he looked to Molly. She opened her eyes softly as she looked at Peter.

"She's you're daughter?" Peter looked up at the ceiling and slowly nodded, realizing his mistake in words.

"I swear to god, if you tell anyone, if you even think about it-"

"I'm not going to tell Bob."

"No one knows about her, no one. Not Sylar, not Bob, not Mory, not Adam. I'm asking you for my kid's sake, keep your mouth shut, and keep your head clean. If anyone asks where she is, tell them you can't find a Grace Petrelli. I can't have them hunting her down." Molly nodded as she looked around the room.

"Okay, who do you want me to find?"

"3 people. First, I need you to find Claire Bennet." Molly nodded, picking up the tum-tac and flipping the pages of her map and placing the tum-tac on the Texas state map, dragging it down the highways and towns until she stopped in Midland. She mumbled as she opened her eyes softly.

"Burnt Toast Diner, Midland Texas." Peter nodded as he wrote it down on a post-it note pad he found on the coffee table. Hiro nodded as he watched Molly.

He spoke up. "Now we need you to find Noah Bennet." Molly did the same procedure again, this time, sticking the tum-tac in Hartsdale, New York. Peter looked up to Molly, and she kept her eyes closed as she spoke.

"Primatec Paper Company, Level 3: Holding Ability Center. Its located in Hartsdale, New York, approximately 14 miles north from the destroyed city." Peter smiled at her, impressed by her precise accuracy.

"Okay, last one. You know him, Matt Parkman." Molly looked angrily at Peter.

"I'm not finding Matt." She looked at the ground.

Hiro looked curiously at her. "Why not?"

"He left me to be a big cop in Washington D.C. when I was 12. He said I was too much of a problem for him." Molly stood up now and raised her voice slightly. "He was like a dad to me and then he took it all away. I'm not going to find him for you!"

Peter put a hand on her shoulder as she looked angrily up at him. "If we find Matt, Hiro could be able to stop the explosion from ever happening, which means my brother won't become president, Matt won't be offered a job in D.C., and he wouldn't leave you. Don't you want that to happen?"

She mumbled. "He'd probably leave me anyway." Molly crossed her arms and sat down again.

"Molly, I've lost more in the explosion than most people. I'm asking you, in the name of my friend, please, can you find Matt for us." Hiro said, softly and understandingly, as Molly reluctantly, and slowly, nodded. She closed her eyes, and winced as she spoke.

"Midland, Texas. Only 3 miles from the Burnt Toast Diner. He's at the Chateau Inn, on the 5th floor, in room 23b." Molly closed her box of tum-tacs, and rolled up her maps. She carefully set them in her bag as she got up and hugged Peter.

"I hope I helped you Peter. It was nice to see you again." She smiled at him as she pulled away and went to hug Hiro.

"If you stop the explosion, come find me." Molly grinned and pulled away as she walked to the break room door and looked back one more time before closing the door behind her. Peter then looked at Hiro and at his post-it note with the locations.

"Do you think Parkman's after Claire?"

"Who knows. We should probably go after them though, tonight maybe."

Peter looked at the door, then at Hiro. "What do I tell Niki? Grace is coming home in 2 weeks."

Hiro looked agitated as he sighed. "I don't know, Peter. Think of something. We can leave tomorrow morning." And when Peter turned to look at him, Hiro was gone.

.

Peter woke early. He rolled over on his side to see the alarm clock on the nightstand next to his bed. 4:28am. He closed his eyes and winced; It wasn't often he woke before dawn. It was dark out, and it would be that way for another hour and a half. He had that time. Peter wanted to see his daughter before he left with Hiro. He got up quietly, trying with all his effort not to wake up Niki, who was sleeping right next to him. Peter yawned quietly and opened two drawers of his dresser. He pulled out some clothes and threw it onto the floor. He opened up their small closet and took out a small duffel bag. Peter quietly put the clothes into a bag and closed the drawers. Slowly he got up off the floor and glanced at Niki. He smiled and quickly walked over to kiss her cheek. He lingered their for a moment, looked from side to side, and walked to the door slowly. Peter opened the door softly and it creaked loudly. He winced as he heard Niki get up. She was never a deep sleeper.

She sat up a bit in the bed and sleepily whispered. "Where are you going?" Niki rubbed her eyes as she laid her head back down.

"I have to go with Hiro. I'll call you when I can. I promise you I'll be back soon." She rolled her eyes slightly and closed her eyes again. Peter smiled for a spilt second as he closed the door behind him, now feeling quite bad about leaving Niki. What about Grace?

.

He walked farther down the hall, and it was still dark when he walked to his little girl's room. She and a nurse were reading a book when they looked up and saw Peter. Grace got up from her bed and opened the door for her father, which was a first for Peter. He hadn't seen her out of her hospital bed in years. She hugged his legs.

"Daddy!" He stroked her hair as he picked up and set her on his hip. Grace laid her head down on Peter's shoulder. He looked over to the nurse, looking curiously at them.

"Sir, is there a reason why you've come at 4:30 in the morning? Visitations are over." Peter rolled his eyes and Grace looked angrily at nurse.

"I'm friends with her doctor. I know Grace is up these hours." It was true. Mohinder described her hours awake as unusual. Nurses said she rarely slept through the night. She would nap off and on for a few hours during the day, then she would fall asleep right after her dinner and wake up a little after midnight. Though Niki and Peter rarely visited her these hours, Peter had to admit he had come alone to the hospital on some particular bad nights throughout the years.

Grace's nurse nodded as if she was unsure, then she left the room and closed the door behind her. Peter watched her out, then turned to his daughter.

"You should come more at night. She's cwabby sometimes." Peter laughed as he set her on a chair near the bed.

"I came because I have to leave for a little while. Only a few days, I promise you. I'll be back before you come home, before you even know it." Grace frowned a bit as she looked away, then she half smiled at him and gave Peter a hug. "I wanted to see you before I left."

"I'm going to miss you Daddy. Sometimes when Mommy comes by herself, she's sad, and I don't know why." Most of the time, that was how Niki was when she _wasn't_ with Grace. Peter knew how hard the explosion was on her.

"I know, I know. Grace, can you promise me something?" She nodded, and moved closer to him so she could sit on his lap.

"Promise you're going to be extra good for Mommy and Doctor Suresh. You'll be going home soon, and I don't want any trouble." He smiled at her as she flashed him one of her famous smiles. Peter didn't show it, but it melted his heart every time he saw her smile. "Do you promise me?" He held out a pinky and Grace held hers out as well as they locked pinkies. He smiled and hugged her one last time before leaving. He walked to the door slowly, looking around the room as Grace climbed back into her bed. Peter opened the door slightly and the nurse walked quickly back in. He looked at Grace once more and seemed to know what she was thinking without even reading her mind, as she looked back at him. He laughed as he closed the door, to find Mohinder standing in front of him. Peter jumped a bit.

"You scared me! What are you doing here at 4 in the morning?" Mohinder smiled as Peter caught his breath quickly.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. I'm always here at 4am." Peter and Suresh turned to look through the glass window. Peter followed his daughter's every move, and smiled at the sight of her.

"How's she doing?" Peter asked as he crossed his arms, not bothering to look at him.

"Much better. I'd say 10 more days. The treatment is doing her a great deal of good. She could be fully cured in just a few more weeks." Peter turned to his old friend and hugged him.

"Thank you, Mohinder." He said as he pulled away and smiled. "I have to go. I'll be back in a few days."

"May I ask where you're going?" Mohinder asked as Peter turned to leave. He turned on the heel of his foot to face the doctor once again.

"It's Claire Bennet. She's alive. Hiro and I believe if we find her and Bennet, and Parkman too, we could have a chance at stopping the explosion." Suresh seemed to roll his eyes as Peter looked at him, trying to read his expression.

"I think it's dumb how you're still trying to stop the damned thing. It happened 5 years ago. The damage was done."

"But, if Hiro can go back at the right precise time, we can stop the whole thing from ever happening! Do you know what that means?"

Mohinder shook his head. "I just don't think you should get your hopes up for something that's not going to happen." And with that, the doctor turned around and quickly walked down the opposite hallway. Peter sneered, though he tried to keep his cool. He turned around, towards the exit of the hospital, and walked quickly down the hall and out the door as he clenched his glowing red fists.


	6. Chapter 6

Hiro Nakamura took another tum-tac from his clear box, and stuck it onto his blue string that crossed Sylar's black one. It was a timeline he'd been working on since the explosion. He was going to go back, and save the world. He just had to figure out the precise time when. Hiro had stood there waiting around when he should've done something. Now, the government thought of him as a terrorist, and the world was damaged. He quickly looked over his shoulder, just too make sure they wouldn't be after him again. It was 5 years today, which means they would be working harder than usual. He looked briefly at the artwork in Isaac Mendez's former loft, the place he learned to call "home." Or, at least the place he'd stop to make the timeline. Just as he turned back to the newspaper clips he'd cut out onto the blue string, his phone had buzzed, and an unknown number had showed up on his caller ID. Hiro picked it up and hesitated whether to answer it or not, then bleakly picked it up and paused before he said a mere "Hello."

"Hiro," Was all he had to say for Hiro to know who he was.

"I told you not to call me on this number anymore." Hiro said, subtly as he heard Peter sigh through the phone.

"Claire Bennet's alive."

"Don't be impractical, Peter, Claire Bennet's been dead since the explosion."

"Suresh has a case of her blood. It's going to heal my kid. He said she's in hiding." Hiro panned over to Claire's red string and carefully took down the explosion line from hers and rolled out more of the red string to continue it on. He was quite pleased at the news, now, maybe he was closer to stopping the bomb.

"We should go find her, right?" Hiro asked.

"No. I'll call Noah. He'll send the tracking device and we can find her that way. It's safer for Claire if we do it this way." Hiro nodded as he stared blankly at the red line.

"How fast can he get the tracking system over to us?"

"If I recall, maybe a day. Noah said it broke down sometimes, but that was 5 years ago."

"Okay. I'll call back when it's safe, in the next 24 hours. Let me know then when it arrives." Hiro hung up the phone, and slowly set it in his black robe pocket as he followed the red string all the way to the explosion once again. He smiled as he took a scissor and cut it from Claire's line. Claire Bennet was alive. This, was good news.


	7. Chapter 7

_**I know this chapter is rather confusing, so in the part where it's italicized, it's Peter talking to Tracy in his head. Tracy is working with Parkman, obviously, but since her voice sounds like Niki's, and she looks like Niki, Peter thought that Tracy was Niki. Kind of confusing, and also when Matt tries to hear Tracy's thoughts, Peter blocks him out of her head so Matt wouldn't be able to hear Peter. And Hiro and Peter calling Tracy "Niki", because they think that she really is Niki. They never met Tracy, I grant you. Sorry for the confusion. Any questions? Ask away **_

.

Hiro teleported them to Odessa, Texas at around 9am, when he found Peter outside a hospital in Vegas drinking a Red Bull. When they got there, Peter had become invisible, and as long as Hiro kept a hand on his shoulder, he would be invisible too. Peter kept his mind wide open as they walked quickly in front of the Burnt Toast diner. He skimmed the minds of those around them, quickly and cautiously. He stopped when he heard a familiar voice come into mind.

_One bullet in the gut, one between the eyes. One bullet in the gut, one between the eyes._ He turned around a few times, just to make sure he wasn't going crazy. He heard… Niki. Peter clenched his fists, to keep the electricity invisible. If it got out of hand, he wouldn't be able to stay out of sight. Hiro nudged Peter and he turned to see Niki and, Parkman? Parkman looked the same, gray hair, stern grin and a gun in his pants holster. Peter was just surprised to see Niki. It could've been Jessica, because her hair was shorter, she wore expensive clothing, and had sunglasses on the top of her head. She had bangs she kept to the side, and for a split second he could've thought she saw him. He decided to talk to her, but knew it would be risky with Parkman right next to her. He put a thought, or rather, a question into her head.

_Niki what are you doing here?_ Peter and Hiro watched her look curiously around, then at Parkman, who looked forward.

_Matt? _Niki looked up at Matt and he half smiled at her as he continued to look forward, obviously searching for Peter and Hiro.

_No. I know Matt can hear me. What are you doing with him? How did you find me?_ Hiro sighed, realizing what Peter was doing as he continued to stare at Niki.

_What the hell are you talking about, Parkman? _

_Cut the crap, Nik. What are you doing?_

_Did you just call me Niki?_

_Why, do you like to be called Jessica?_ Peter smirked at her, knowing she couldn't see it.

_Who are you talking about?_

_You haven't been around in awhile, 5 years. Leave Niki alone, I don't want to have another talk with you again. Stay away from Grace, too._

_Who's Grace?_

_You've got to be kidding me, Jessica. You honestly don't know who Grace is? My daughter, Niki's daughter._

_I'm Tracy, not Jessica or Niki or whoever you're talking of. I have no idea who you're talking about. Tell me, Parkman._

_Tracy? You're not Jessica?_

"Parkman, what the hell are you doing? Who's Jessica?" Matt glanced over to her, with his usually confused looking face.

"What are you talking about?" He tried to read her mind, and Peter took great joy in blocking him out of Niki's head. Parkman stopped struggling as he stared at Niki. "Why can't I hear you?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Niki said angrily. Peter dug into her head.

He got Tracy Strauss, Tracy Strauss, Tracy Strauss, and politics, Nathan Petrelli, her job with Parkman. But nothing on Niki. Peter didn't understand. She talked like Niki, looked exactly like Niki, but she was not the woman he loved. He looked over to a confused Hiro, and thought he should tell him that she wasn't Niki, or even Jessica. And that she was working with Parkman to kill them.

Peter opened the door of the Burnt Toast Diner and Hiro, with his hand on Peter's shoulder, followed. Matt felt around in his pocket for his gun, and Tracy did the same as they watched the door mysteriously open, then close just like that. Matt suddenly understood why he couldn't hear Tracy's thoughts. Peter, and with Peter, Hiro should follow. Game time. He pulled out the gun and Tracy held a tazer gun as Matt kicked the door to open and they came in. Everyone in the small diner screamed and hid for cover. Tracy scanned everyone, looking for Claire. Looking for Peter, Hiro. Anyone. All she found were a group of terrified citizens and Noah Bennet, casually sipping coffee, who looked up for a moment to smile at the two. Matt couldn't believe it. 18 hours of driving, becoming so close to finally stopping Hiro Nakamura, only to have Peter come in and make him invisible. Great. How would he explain this to Nathan?


	8. Chapter 8

_**I was going to write this chapter over the weekend, but from a special request, I decided to post it now. I personally think it was a rather boring start to a chapter, but the ending gets interesting. Like I said prior, this story is slow-moving, and it will have a lot of chapters. I have a lot coming for you guys ;) Thank you for the request! Here it is!**_

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Claire Bennet, or now known as Sandra Carter, wiped up the counter top behind the swivel chairs as she grinned at a customer a few seats to her right. She tucked a piece of her dyed auburn-brown hair behind her left ear as she looked around the diner. Claire never told anyone, but she was rather bored here, working 5 years now. Now 21, she was getting married to her boyfriend of 3 years, Andy. After the wedding, she hoped to move somewhere more open; more _interesting_.

"Can I get you anything, ma'am?" A lady with curly-red hair nodded as Claire handed her a small Burnt Toast Diner menu. She smiled again as she looked to the rear of the small diner. There, she saw her father, Noah, who made occasional visits to check up on her. Claire dreaded his visits, only because she could never spend time with her father again, being involved in hiding and all. 5 years ago, she miraculously survived the New York City explosion caused by terrorist "Sylar". Claire had contact with the terrorist before the explosion, as he came to try to kill her; twice. It was because she survived that she had to go into hiding. Now that the world was exposed to those with abilities, all those with them before the explosion went into hiding. The alternative would be horrible. Claire got a new job, a new name, a new everything; with the help of her Dad. The only bad thing was, she had to live the rest of her life as a lie. Everything about Claire was a lie. And she could never see her family again, with the exception of Noah, who dropped in the restaurant every now and then with the latest news.

Claire sighed as she picked up a coffee pot in front of her and her towel to clean tables as she walked from behind the counters to the table in which Noah sat, reading a newspaper.

Not looking up at her, Noah talked softly, but loud enough for Claire to hear. "Someone knows about you. There are government agents outside the door as we speak. My suggestion to you is to pack up whatever you can grab, and leave." Claire wiped his table as she looked at him reading the paper briefly.

"I'm getting married." She said, nonchalantly as Noah looked quickly up at her.

"Does he know?" Claire shook her head as he looked back to his paper.

"Then I think you should suggest a vacation or something, and the two of you should leave as soon as possible." Claire poured him more coffee as she listened intently.

"I can't just drop everything and run." She glanced behind her, then back to her father's table, as she wiped the table in circles with her towel.

"You have no choice. You have to. You don't have much time. Go now." Claire rolled her eyes, hating the idea, as she walked off with the coffee pot and towel. She walked behind the counters again as she put the coffee pot in the sink and started to wash it, thinking about her Dad's advice thoroughly, wondering how exactly how she would tell Andy. He didn't know anything about her experience in the explosion, and how she could heal. Claire knew she'd have to tell him one day, but she didn't know it would have to be so soon. All of a sudden, she felt warm arms wrap around her waist and a chin press down on her shoulder, and she looked over with a smile to see a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Andy grinning at her.

"How's business babe?" He said as he let go and kissed her cheek. Claire blushed, now feeling worse about having to leave. She turned to face him as she half smiled.

"I have this crazy idea. Do you want to run away with me?" Claire smiled, trying her best to look practical. Andy only laughed.

"You're right, that is a crazy idea. Why don't we run away on our honey-moon? Hmm?" He said with his natural Southern accent that Claire was always drawn too. Claire tried to pull off a frown.

"Please? Just for today. It could be fun." Andy looked at her as he took some plates off a shelf near by. Once he reached them, he came face to face with her and smiled.

"What about work? Do you want to take off the rest of the day?" She grinned.

"Sure. Why not?" Andy kissed her lips softly as Claire suddenly felt dizzy.

"Okay babe, lemme go pack up then," Claire felt relieved as Andy winked at her and walked through the door way to the kitchen. She backed up against a shelf, feeling star struck for a brief moment. It was quickly broken by the stare she locked with her father. She could tell what he would say just by looking at him.

The next moment, time was completely frozen. Everyone around her was frozen in what they were doing; Even Noah. Claire felt her heart thump quicker as she clutched a knife that was in front of her. She breathed heavily, knowing it must be a person with abilities. She had never seen anything like this, even when she was exposed to those with abilities like hers. A second later, her uncle, Peter, that she had not seen since the explosion 5 years prior, stood before her. His appearance was the same, except his hair was slicked back with gel, he wore a gold cross around his neck, and he had a highly noticeable scar that was in two pieces across his face. Claire stared into his eyes as he put his hands on her shoulders. She felt relieved; knowing after all they've been through, that Peter would not hurt her.

"Listen, there are agents outside and they are after you, me, and Hiro." Claire then looked over Peter's shoulder to now see Hiro standing behind him. "If they get us, that'll be the end of a normal life. I have to take care of my girlfriend and my sick kid, so that possibility is out of the cards. When Hiro restarts time, I'm going to make us all invisible. You, cannot make a sound. I promise you we won't hurt you. We just need to talk, but later. Can you please do that, Claire." Hearing her real name sounded odd, but nevertheless, she nodded as she hugged Peter. All these years, she thought he was dead. He stroked her hair and hugged her back, and Claire didn't even notice she was tearing.

Hiro looked up from the ground as he spoke. "Time has to stop." Peter pulled away, and Claire wiped away her tears as she nodded.

The next second, she found herself sitting on the floor with her knees in front of her behind the counters, next to Peter as he kept a finger to his lips to order her to be quiet. Claire kept her eyes closed and focused on not making a sound as she heard the sound of two gunshots and the screams of the customers in the "Burnt Toast". She winced, as her heart was about to beat out of her chest. Peter took her hand and looked at her, and Claire nodded as she took it. She saw Andy's shoes run to the scene as she closed her eyes again.

"Where the hell are they?" She heard a familiar voice yell as she looked to Peter. He looked away, saying nothing. Claire caught a glimpse at Hiro, who was looking from the corner of the counter at the scene they were avoiding.

"I heard him. I heard him in my head! It was Peter Petrelli!"

"Where's Claire then?

"They must have gotten to her too, Matt."

"Dammit!" Yelled Matt as Claire heard the front door of the Burnt Toast Diner slam shut.


	9. Chapter 9

After the screams had died down, and people were starting to ask for Claire, or for "Sandra" rather, Peter and Hiro teleported Claire to Isaac Mendez's former loft in New York City. Peter watched Claire as Hiro showed her the red string that represented her on his time line. Peter then started to day-dream, worrying about Niki and Grace, knowing Grace would be coming home soon. He slowly lowered his hand to his back-pocket and took out the only thing he ended up bringing with him, a picture of Grace he took a few weeks ago. This picture of his daughter was Peter's favorite. He smiled looking at her innocent face and beautiful eyes. Peter then looked over his shoulder when he heard a heart-beat fairly close to him. He turned to see Claire, looking at the picture of Grace.

"She's beautiful, Peter." Claire said, studying the picture. "She looks a lot like you."

Peter smiled at her. "Thank you."

"How old?"

"She'll be 5 on May 29th. "

Claire looked up at him, remembering everything that happened long ago between them.

"Who is her mother?"

"You probably don't remember her." Peter said, not willing to explain matters to his niece.

Claire nodded as she walked over to Hiro, who was fixing some of the articles attached to her line.

"Why, did you bring me here?" She asked, running her hand down the red line.

"We have a plan to stop the explosion from ever happening." Hiro spoke up as he stood next to Claire.

"We need your help, Claire." Peter half-smiled at Claire. "Can you help us?"

Claire crossed her arms and looked at the time line, deep in thought. Hiro and Peter exchanged glances as they waited for Claire's response. After some time, she turned to face them as she spoke softly.

"No one will be hurt?"

"Of course, we'll be saving people, not hurting them." Hiro said, looking at the green line, representing his late friend Ando.

"I'll get to see my family?"

"Yes, of course. We all will. The world is going to be so much better if we stop the explosion." Peter said, smiling at the picture of Grace once more before he put it away in his pocket again.

Claire sighed, as she smiled at Peter. "Okay, I'll help you. What do we have to do?"

"Well, I need your ability to make everyone else immune to the dangers we might face stopping myself from exploding…"

Claire nodded, looking at Peter. "…Who knows?"

"Only Hiro, You, and your father. Everyone else either doesn't know or is dead and I'd like to keep it that way." Peter said, walking across the room to the other side of the time line. He briefly skimmed past the articles crossing each person involved with the explosion. He studied each thread which symbolized him, his friends, and his family. Niki's, he saw, was pink, Grace's, which was a particularly short line, was purple, and his was the most important: gold, which was the longest string and crossed just about everyone else's.

Hiro put a hand on his shoulder, and Peter quickly glanced at him, then back to the time-line. "We'll need Noah."

Peter nodded, as he locked his eyes on Claire. "Molly said Hartsdale, New York. Is that where your dad will be?"

She nodded, briefly looking up towards the ceiling.

"Then it's settled, we'll go to find him. Bennet's always got a plan up his sleeve and we can't go back 5 years without a game-plan." Peter looked once at Claire, then back at Hiro. He seemed impatient as he walked past them and up the stairs to the front door of Isaac's loft. "Come on, I don't have much time."

.

They appeared seconds later on the Third Level of the Primatec Paper Company outlet in Hartsdale, New York. Peter stopped time to ditch security, and he, Hiro, and Claire wandered a series of halls until they found Noah, frozen in time and sitting at a desk with a group of papers in his hand. Hiro nodded at Peter as he continued time, and Noah jumped slightly seeing the 3 in front of him.

"I figured I would see you guys together after Parkman came in." Noah said, as he got up and went to hug Claire as she started crying and walked into his arms. Peter looked at the ground, immediately thinking of Grace. Peter and Hiro wanted anxiously for the family reunion to sub-side so they could get to business.

Noah took a seat at his desk again, with the 3 watching him. "I know why you're here. And I want to help." He said, watching Claire.

"What you guys want is a game-plan, and I can provide that. Having Parkman would've helped, but he's won't want to help. When are you planning on going first?"

Hiro cleared his throat. "To warn Peter in the past of the dangers today. He would've been in the New York subway with Mohinder. Then, to warn the past version of myself, and to see if Peter had saved Claire. Once Claire is saved from Sylar, we go the day of the Explosion and stop Peter from explo-"

Noah nodded, then interrupted Hiro. "The only one who can save Peter from blowing up New York is… Peter." Peter's eyes grew wide as he and Hiro exchanged glances.

"You're the only one who can. You are the only one who can stop this thing, with the help of the rest of us. We can save the world, if you can do this." Noah said, looking to Peter. He gulped and spoke softly.

"Well I sure as hell am going to try. But what if…. What if, I die?"

Noah looked around the room before returning his glance at Peter. "If you die, you will have saved millions of people's lives, not to mention, you will have mentally saved others from a life of sadness and anger. You will have saved Hiro and Ando, Claire and myself, Nathan, Mohinder and Matt, Molly Walker, Micah, and not to mention Niki and your daughter." Peter crossed his arms and nodded.

"Let's say this is a success. We stop me from exploding. What about afterwards?"

"We'd return to our better lives and- the rest is history." Noah replied subtly, as Peter nodded.

"When do we start?" Claire asked her father.

"Right now. Hiro, go back to the past and warn the past versions of yourself and Peter. Peter, fly to D.C.: Someone needs to talk some sense into your brother, if we're going to save him at all in the past. When you both are finished, return here, and that's when we will go to Kirby Plaza."

"Wait, what I am going to do?" Claire asked, looking at Peter.

"You wait here, with me, until they're done. You'll come with us to Kirby Plaza, don't worry." Claire nodded, staring at the ground, as Peter and Hiro time-travel out, making another step towards_ their_ better lives.


	10. Chapter 10

Nathan kicked his feet upon his Presidential desk as he skimmed through some papers. In the main room, he looked around and smiled, still pleased everything was working out perfectly. Nathan Petrelli was no ordinary politician. He was the 45th President of the United States, and it was only days after the 5 year anniversary of what was the single greatest tragedy in US history. There wasn't a person in the world who wasn't struggling, not even himself. Nathan kept the secret for 5 years, one that could cost him his life if anyone knew. He, could fly. And it was because he protected his brother, Peter, that he was where he was today. Peter was the one who blew up New York City, not Sylar, like the world had thought. After the explosion, as he was recovering from a near-death injury, Nathan had told Peter to tell the world that Sylar, a former serial killer, was the one who blew up New York City. Sylar even died because of the explosion, along with countless others. This was the only way to save his public image. If the world knew that Peter Petrelli was the one to blow up New York, Nathan would never be able to build his reputation back. Peter did it, too, only to protect his pregnant girlfriend. Nathan guaranteed their safety, even after he ordered the rounding up of those with abilities. And for that, Peter was forever grateful. Anyone with abilities was to be captured and studied for a way to stop them. If you weren't captured, you were lucky. And Nathan had to admit, the world still was in peril, but the people looked up to him, and that was all he _really_ cared about.

Minutes of looking through papers and stamping documents passed before Nathan received the call. He picked it up quickly, anxious to hear the news.

"Did you find them?

"No, they escaped. They were right under our noses. Invisible, too. Both of them, Peter, and Hiro-"

"You cannot capture my brother. How many times have I told you?" Nathan rebutted.

"But, sir, Peter has contact with Hiro. He can lead us right to him, he-"

"We do not involve Peter in our personal matters. I asked you to find me Hiro Nakamura. Tell me, Parkman, how could you let him get away?" Nathan raised his voice.

He heard Matt Parkman stutter over the phone until he finally choked out what he was going to say. "I, I don't know, sir-"

"Come back home, Parkman. You and Ms. Strauss are to come see me tomorrow afternoon, 1 o'clock. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mr. President." And with that, Parkman hung up. Nathan wasn't surprised; 100's of people were trying to find Hiro Nakamura for years. No luck. He is the number one terrorist in the world, and an old acquaintance of Nathan's. He could time travel; be somewhere one minute, and somewhere else in another. But it's been 5 years, and now Nathan was more determined than ever to find him, capture him, and kill him. Nathan knew Parkman was right; he needed to talk to Peter. Knowing his brother, Peter wouldn't give out where Hiro was, but maybe he could help in a different sense. After all, Peter was the only person Nathan could think of who's had contact with Hiro Nakamura in the past 5 years. Perhaps they were planning something. Whatever they were doing, Nathan was going to get to the bottom of it. He was going to find Peter, and quick.


	11. Chapter 11

Niki woke only minutes after Peter had left and knew that it was something about the explosion. She didn't want Peter to be involved with it anymore; It was 5 years ago. The damage was done. Nevertheless, she was never a heavy sleeper, and often woke before Peter. She rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed, slipping on her bathroom slippers. Niki then left her bedroom and walked into the kitchen, as she started making coffee. Niki hated that Peter left her alone; it reminded her of how she felt all the time in her head. She took the coffee out of a box and put it into the coffee maker, as she slumped into a kitchen chair. Niki rested her head on her hands as she thought about Micah. The thought made her smile, but only for a brief moment until her thoughts turned into the explosion.

_He would've been such a good brother. _Niki thought to herself. He didn't even know Niki was pregnant. She hadn't had the time to tell him. But he would have, Niki knew it. If only he was here, right now. . .

Then she lost it. As the coffee machine was working, Niki started sobbing, except this time, Peter wasn't there to help her. Whether it was a matter of minutes, or an hour, Niki didn't know as she cried for her son. She felt as if she failed his as a mother, by letting him die. If she had just done something different, one little thing, she could have saved her son's life.

All of a sudden, her cell phone, which was subsequently on the kitchen table, starting buzzing. Niki picked it up, and saw it was Mohinder calling. She quickly tried to pull herself together as she wiped away her tears and picked up the phone. She tried to sound relatively normal in mood as she said a mere, "Hello".

"Niki? Oh, Peter told me this morning he was leaving. . . I would only call if it was an absolute emergency, and. . . well, it's Grace. Something's happening to her-" Niki was in utter shock, and wanted more than anything to know more. She stood up from the kitchen table and went into her room to find clothes. She ran into her room as she talked, sounding worried.

"What! What happened! Is she okay?"

"She seems fine, health wise. She's crying for you. It's…. hard to explain. You may the only one she'll let through." Mohinder said quickly. Niki looked solemnly out the window as she pulled on her boots and hung up her cell phone. Something was dreadfully wrong. Mohinder rarely called them. Something was happening to Grace, and Niki knew it wouldn't be good.

.

In less than 20 minutes, Niki found herself at her daughter's hospital, racing franticly to the elevator. She winced instead of looking at the mirror in the elevator. She became filled with anxiety to see what happened to Grace, and she was angry that Peter wasn't here. Niki knew he would have been the calm one. But he wasn't here. He was off saving the world for everyone else, when he couldn't even save his family.

Niki walked nervously down the hallway in which she knew she would find Grace. Instead, she saw Mohinder and other doctors and nurses with their arms folded on their chests, staring out the glass window that Niki knew so well. Mohinder turned his head and looked to her, as he nodded side to side, returning his glance back to the window. Niki stopped in her footsteps at what she saw through the window.

What she saw was her nearly 5 year old daughter sitting on her bed, staring back at them through the large window. Her forehead had beads of sweat strewn about and her clothes were tattered, like they had been frayed. Her brown hair was in a messy ponytail on the top of her head, and her eyes were red from her crying. But that wasn't the half of it. All around her the walls of the room were peeling off. The handles on her bed were melted off, and all around her was steaming goop that must have been things around the hospital room. The IV machine was melting to the ground, as were the chairs and medicine cabinets. Niki stared at everything; the room looked like it had been through a terrible fire, and all that remained was debris. But she knew that not to be the case. Grace, hers and Peter's daughter, had caused it. She had an ability, and it was all their fault. Niki knew life because of this would be hell. Nathan Petrelli, Peter's brother, banned those with abilities to "breed", and it was because of this very reason. She knew Peter could keep Nathan away, but what would this mean for all the other Sylars out there? He was dead, they were all sure of it. He perished when he blew up New York City 5 years ago. But there were others like him, and they emerged because were now targeted as a minority. All of them. Not Peter, nor Grace, or herself, because they were given what was called a 'pass' from Nathan once the laws started passing 5 years ago. They were not to be bothered by government officials, Nathan was to make sure of it. After all, he was Peter's brother. Grace stared back and Niki started sobbing, coming closer to the window. All the doctors stepped farther away from the window, but Niki approached it. Grace, in her small height, stood on her tip-toes, and put her hands on the window. Niki saw the fog on the glass as she smiled weakly as Grace continued to cry outside. She said something, but Niki couldn't hear what it was.

Niki's instant reaction was to open the door. She had to help the little girl, trapped inside her own confusion in the deteriorating room. Niki reached for the doorknob, but no matter how she pulled or pushed it, it wouldn't open. _Locked. _She thought. Niki looked to Mohinder as he shook his head.

"She's dangerous, Niki." She looked at him, not believing her innocent little daughter could be harmful in anyway.

"She's upset and she needs help. She needs her mother, and I have to get her out of there. That building will bury her alive." For the first time since the Explosion, Niki within seconds pulled off the doorknob and the door swung open. Mohinder and the others looked at each other in awe.

"Momma?" Niki heard, as she walked into the room. It smelled terribly of burning tar or rubber, as she walked over to Grace, whom was cornering herself as she looked nervously to Niki. "Momma…. What's happening to me?"

Niki whispered, wanting to cry as she came closer step by step to Grace. "Baby girl… we're going to talk about it later. But I'm going to take you home now." Grace looked like she wanted to smile, but she was so shaken that she just stood there. Niki came closer to her and picked her up. Grace wrapped her legs around Niki's waist and put her small arms around her neck. Niki held onto Grace as she walked out of the melting room. She closed the door behind her with her free hand, and walked to Mohinder. All the doctors and nurses stepped farther away in terror as they stared at Grace in Niki's arms. Mohinder staid in place, remembering when all this seemed interesting to study. Niki spoke softly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Our agreement is finished. I thank you for taking care of her these past 2 years, but we won't be needing your services anymore." With that said, Niki turned the opposite way, with her back turned to them, and walked quickly away with Grace in her arms. Grace looked sadly to Dr. Suresh as she laid her head down on Niki's shoulder. They were going home, but Peter wasn't here for them. This moment was supposed to be different from now. It was supposed to be with excitement and happiness, with Peter here to lead the way home. But Niki took Grace alone, because leaving her daughter there would mean leaving everything good in her in that room as well. What the near future held for their broken family was opaque, and Niki couldn't see smooth sailing in the picture.


	12. Chapter 12

Peter phased into the presidential office of his brother, as he watched him skim through papers. As it was that Nathan could not see him, Peter paced around the room, deciding to become visible while directly in front of Nathan.

He looked up, surprised to see his brother here again under not-so-good conditions. "Peter, I-"

"Why did you come after Hiro? Claire? For god sakes, Nathan, your own daughter…"

"Hiro is dangerous. You know that." Nathan replied, standing up from his chair to walk over to Peter. His younger brother had lost most of his innocence during the explosion, but Nathan always knew some of it, deep down, was still there.

"He's one of my closest friends. We help each other out. He's not who you think he is, Nate-"

Nathan rolled his eyes. _Foolish,_ was the word he would always use to describe him. And here Nathan thought his brother finally grew up… "A terrorist. Like Sylar- do you know how many people he's killed?"

"Can't be as many as you've killed in this genocide. Because that is what this is, you know. Genocide. And you, me, Mom, Niki, and Grace get an unexplainable free pass because we're "harmless". Not to mention, Parkman, who's working under you. It's unfair. I've been grateful for the fact that my family isn't on the list, but really, Nathan-"

"It's getting harder and harder to protect you, you know. All of the agents want to track you down to get to hero. But I don't allow it. For my kid brother." Peter looked at him from the corner of his eye as Nathan freezes. "There must be a reason why you're here."

"I need you to tell me everything you know about the plans for the explosion 5 years ago." Nathan chuckled to himself as he took a seat in his presidential chair.

"That's silly, Peter, why would I do that? You can't possibly tell me you want another explosion-"

"Of course not, I'm trying to stop it all together. The whole thing. We'd save millions of lives, and improve many others. We could be living an entirely different world." Peter said, sweeping his hand down his perfectly jelled-back brown hair.

Nathan crossed his arms as he closed his eyes and nodded his head from side to side. "No, Pete, that can't happen, that's going to ruin everything."

"I figured you would say that." Peter responded, putting thoughts into Nathan's head. _The names Niki Sanders, Peter Petrelli, and Grace Petrelli will not under any circumstances go on the list to be tracked down. Now, tell me everything you know about the plans for the explosion. _Nathan scoffed at his brother as Peter smiled.

"5 years ago, paintings by an artist named Isaac Mendez were sold to Linderman, telling of a future nuclear explosion that was to take place in New York City. Another showed an orange and red glowing man, who must have caused the explosion. Mom saw dreams about this event and told Linderman, who showed her the paintings. Together, they decided that this event would bring the world together and heal it once and for all. I was brought into it somehow, my winning of the Congressional Election played a part in getting me here. Everyone had their place and time in this, yours being to explode. Living through it was just a bonus. And Mom was right, it was the most important day of my life. The day that I became the leader of the American people in the face of the greatest tragedy in U.S. history. Going back in time will ruin everything." Peter was disgusted. He was ashamed that his brother had taken so much pride in seeing his own kind suffer. Weather it was the soul of an average American citizen, or the life of one with abilities, Peter knew this fate had to be changed at all cost. He nodded his head up and down as he turned to phase through one of the walls. Nathan seemed to be unaffected as he continued working on whatever paperwork was on his desk.

Before leaving, Peter turned around and asked his brother a question, "Who is Tracy Strauss?"

Nathan looked up, as if he was startled by hearing his brother bring up that name. "How do you know Tracy Strauss?"

"I don't know her. I saw her at the diner in Texas, working with Matt Parkman, when Hiro and I went to retrieve Claire. She, she looks exactly like-"

"Niki." Peter nodded as his brother smiled, understanding his brother's curiosity now.

"Yeah, how is that possible? She's not one of Niki's…"

"No, no, it's- a long story. We'll save that for another time, alright Pete." Coming to the conclusion that his brother probably slept with her and didn't want to get into details, Peter half-smiled a goodbye to his older brother as he time travels out of the White House to one last destination.

Tracy Strauss was no Niki, but she sure as hell looked like her. And she made Peter remember the whole reason he was doing this.

Niki. She had changed that day 5 years ago. She had lost her son. And Micah Sanders was the number 1 person Peter had regretting killing on that fateful day. If he couldn't save himself, at least he would be saving Micah. For Niki.


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry for the long wait, I lost inspiration on this story for a while. The end is near, folks! The climax chapter is coming up next, and I have exactly what I want in my head all planned out. I hope you like the new chapter! This story is only getting 3-5 more chapters, and then it's done! Read&Review, please! **

.

"Good! You're back." Claire said, standing up from her seat on the floor to greet Peter. "We need to go to the past." Peter looked over to Hiro and Noah and sighed, smiling a bit.

"This is it; we're going to stop this bomb."

"We're going to save the world." Hiro added as he put his hands on both Peter and Noah's shoulders, prepared to leave for the past.

"Wait!" Yelled Claire, grabbing Peter's hand. "I'm going too."

Noah eyed Claire, shaking his head from side to side. "No. This is going to get dangerous; you got lucky, last time, Claire. What if they can't stop the explosion? What if-"

"I'm willing to take that chance. I'm tired of pretending to be someone that I'm not." She looked over to Peter anxiously, gripping his hand tighter. "I want to go." Noah crossed his arms and stared at Peter as Hiro closed his eyes; taking the four to the past, to finally destroy what destroyed their lives.

.

Hiro, Peter, Claire and Noah arrived at Kirby Plaza in New York City an hour early from when Peter had approximately exploded 5 years ago. Hiro wanted to scope the place to make sure everything was in place for what they were about to stop. And Peter had a few people to talk to.

He walked quickly into the building, in which he had never been in, and 'persuaded' his way past security. He hadn't seen New York in its glory in years, and it was nice to see it the way it used to be. Peter had known where exactly she would be as he reached the 23rd floor of the Kirby Plaza Building, walking into the hallway to see her. Niki was holding onto Micah's shoulders and looking into the doorway of the hallway as a 10 year-old Molly Walker was sitting with her back against the elevator doors. Niki had her back turned to him, but Molly saw him and recognized him immediately. Peter compared the way she looked now from how she looked when he last saw her in his future, and he saw how much Molly changed.

"Peter!" She called out, getting up and running to hug his legs. Peter looked down at her and smiled, hugging her back as Niki turned to look at him. Her hair was shorter and some part of her seemed more; innocent, but nevertheless she gave him the same look she always had on. Molly released Peter's legs as she went back to sit against the elevator doors as Niki walked over to Peter.

"You're not from this time, are you?" She asked, looking at his face. Peter quivered a bit, his scar burning with guilt as he stared at his once happy girlfriend. He motions for her to follow him as he walks to a corner of the hallway, his eye on Micah and Molly. Niki hesitates to follow him, but she comes closer to him, looking over her shoulder at the kids before Peter whispers to her.

"Niki, you have to listen to me this is very important."

"You're from the future, aren't you?" She said, crossing her arms. "I know D.L.'s dead. Mohinder told me he lost too much blood… but tell me, what becomes of all this? Micah, and you and I-"

Peter puts his hands on Niki's shoulders as he sighs. "You're pregnant." Niki's eyes widened as she quickly turned to look at Micah and Molly behind her.

"I didn't tell anyone yet. I'm only 8 weeks… and I didn't tell _you_ yet. But you know… so that must mean that you've met our child. Please tell me, Peter, how this all turns out. All this is so confusing, with Micah and D.L…. and you, so-"

"We have a daughter, you and I. I'm from 5 years in the future, making her a few months older than 4. She has long brown hair and hazel eyes. She's beautiful Niki… but that's not why I wanted to speak to you." She nodded her head up and down as she crossed her arms, moving a step closer to hear what Peter is whispering.

"There is going to be an explosion. In my world, it isn't stopped, and New York City is destroyed. Millions of people die… and Hiro, the Japanese time traveler, traveled you and Molly Walker out in time. But others weren't so lucky. So we are all here to stop it. We have to; we need to save all these people."

"Micah is dead?" Niki mumbled under her breath slowly, looking up to Peter. He nodded and her eyes grew wider.

"You haven't been the same since. You thought I was dead, too, but the truth was I was so afraid that I would find you dead that I hadn't found out that you were alive for 3 months. I need to stop this explosion. Not for me, but for you. So you can have both your son and your daughter." Niki started silently crying, Peter wiping the tears from her face.

"I can't lose him," She said looking over to Micah. "You can do this, Peter, you can stop this explosion?"

"I'm not going down without a fight. We've been planning for years for this chance to change the world, and we're going to do it. But you need to remember this; when you go outside to the plaza, you will be holding onto Molly and Micah. Micah will want to go back inside for his Dad, but you cannot let him go. Make sure you hold onto him, because Hiro will teleport you and Molly and Micah to Las Vegas, just in case we can't stop the bomb. You'll be safe. Okay?" Niki nodded as she hugged Peter, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"The scar; you got it from the explosion?" She asked, as Peter nodded.

"If I do make it, I'll come around. I'll find you. If I don't-, I just want to tell you that our baby; her name is Grace. I know that you weren't going to tell me, but I wouldn't have left you. I came to find you, in my future. I'm not like my brother; I'm with you, Nik."

"I love you, Peter. I love all the forms of you; you make me feel like I'm not a member of AA and I'm not a single mother…"

Peter smiled. "I love you too, Niki. Protect yourself, and Micah and Molly. The future depends on it." He said softly, kissing her lips briefly. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, what is it?" Niki responded with a confused look on her face.

"Before the explosion, could you tell the Peter from this time, about…"

"Yeah… yeah, of course." She said, hugging him one more time.

"I'll find you. He won't hesitate to find you if he knows." Peter smiled at her, then looked over Niki's shoulder to the kids talking amongst each other near the elevator. "I have to go. Protect yourself."

She nodded as he started walking away. "You're my hero." She mouthed as Peter smiled at her, disappearing half-way through walking down the hallway on the 23rd floor.

Showtime.


	14. Chapter 14

**I'm so sorry for the long wait, everyone! I've been overwhelmingly busy, but hopefully during this holiday time off I can finish up on this story and my Grey's chapter fic. But for now, here's the big climax chapter! Enjoy! Xx**

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Peter walked outside Kirby Plaza to see an all-too-familiar scene, one that haunted his dreams on many previous occasions. He took a deep breath and stood off to the side, watching the event happen in the order he remembered them to be. The past version of himself was fending off Sylar, as Claire stood a few feet behind him pointing a gun to his head, shaking as tears came down her face. Niki stood off the side, on Peter's left, keeping each of her hands on Micah and Molly's shoulders, pulling them close to her. She looked as if she was looking for someone, and Peter assumed it was him. Hiro popped in behind him, staying quiet as he watched the fight between the past Peter and Sylar. Peter hadn't recognized Hiro's presence for a few minutes, and when he did he was slightly started. He closed his eyes for a moment as he kept his focus on Niki. He couldn't remember the last time that Niki was truly happy, and it made him happy seeing her the way she was again. Peter knew doing this, stopping this terrible explosion, was right seeing her. Matt, Suresh, and Noah were near the main entrance of the plaza, as Mohinder was tending to the injuries of both Matt and Noah. As the past Peter's hands started to glow, the future Peter took a few steps forward, knowing what he had to do. Hiro put a hand on his shoulder, nodding off to him as he stepped ahead. Before he could do anything, however, an all-too-familiar blonde ran in front of him, tapping on the shoulder of the past Peter as he turned to face her, a look of concern coming onto his face.

"Peter, I'm pregnant." Niki, told him, caressing his face softly. He looked at her for a good minute as the future Peter smiled, turning to see the past Hiro and Ando pop in the scene, gathering Micah and Molly as they motioned for Niki to come with them.

"You… are? You're sure?" He said, speaking in broken sentences as his fists continued to glow.

"Yes… But listen to me, Peter. I need you to come out of this alive… I don't know what I'll do without you. If you make it… just know, I need you. Come find me… promise me that this isn't it." The past Peter nodded, looking at the past Claire as she held the gun to her side, watching him and Niki.

"I promise… I'm going to make it. I'm sure as hell going to try. For you… and for our baby. This isn't it, Nik. Believe me." He said, smiling at her. "Now, go. Because if I can't stop this explosion I'm not going to let you die." The past Peter said, quickly kissing her and sending her off to the past Hiro and Ando, who teleported her, Molly, and Micah out of Kirby Plaza. The future Peter sighed, knowing that he and Hiro had already saved Ando and Micah. He turned around to Claire and Noah from his time, walking up behind him.

"What now?" Claire asked.

"I'm flying him up; seeing if I can have him explode in the atmosphere and not on land." Peter said, watching Sylar get up to fight Peter again, relieved that Niki and Micah and Molly were gone from the plaza.

"Claire, let's go help Suresh with Matt. If this thing is stopped, Matt might not live anyway. And he's one part our time that shouldn't be repeated." Noah said, motioning for Claire to follow him towards where past Mohinder, Matt, and Noah were; on the side of Kirby Plaza. Noah kept eye-contact with Peter as a single thought of his entered Peter's head.

_You think you can really do this? You really think you can stop him from exploding? Repeating our future would lead to total chaos; all over again. Please, reassure me, Peter. Can you do this?_

_I do it, Noah. I've been waiting for this moment for 5 years. _Peter responded, nodding with sincerity in Noah's direction as he finally faced forward, walking towards the past version of himself, whom was becoming more and more engulfed in the radiation that it was turning him orange.

He looked the past version of himself in the eye as the past Claire took a few steps back. The past Peter clenched his fists as the future Peter put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're from the future… you're helping me save the world, aren't you?" The past Peter asked curiously as the future Peter nodded.

"The future this world will face if you aren't stopped is unexplainably terrible. It becomes a dark place, where people like us are hunted and killed, and where there is a line drawn between those with abilities and those without." He said, as he took hold of the past version of himself, flying up into the atmosphere, the cold air hitting both of their faces. "We are, saving the world. It's something I have to do."

"What if you die?" The past Peter asked loudly, finding it hard to breathe.

"I won't. The only way I'll die is if you die, and I'm trying not let that happen. She's going to need you, whether she's in pain or not." The future Peter responded, speaking against the rush they were flying against as he referred to Niki. The past-Peter closed his eyes as he yelled, feeling the radiation escape him as future-Peter braced himself, ready for the worst as he felt the past version of himself explode into the atmosphere, created a gigantic golden-orange cloud that pushed the future-Peter from his younger counterpart. He closed his eyes as he felt hazy, like something had passed over him, as the future-Peter fell many many feet down, smoke from the explosion stuff in the atmosphere still around him. He had reassured himself that by this point, if he was still falling that meant that the past-Peter had survived, the way the future Peter had survived when he exploded. _Claire…_

Peter knew he could have flew out, but it was more peaceful falling; against the rush of the explosion. It felt like he was falling forever. He kept picturing what the world would be like in his future; surely, it would improve immensely. Not only his life, but the lives of others. Noah, Claire, Matt, Molly, Mohinder, Hiro… Niki. He had finally done it; what everyone tried to tell him was impossible. He changed the future. When Peter started seeing buildings again while falling, he decided that it would be a good time to travel back to his own future.

.

He abruptly fell with a hard thud onto some kind of concrete. Finally opening his eyes, Peter saw he was in an unfamiliar alleyway in New York City. He smiled, for the first time in a while, seeing New York back in its glory. He stood up, still shaken from his fall as he walked out of the alley into one of the main streets of New York. Peter observed his surroundings, proud of the way things looked apparently normal. He suddenly stopped in his tracks as he witnessed someone with apparent electric abilities shock a taxi in his way, flipping over as he chuckled, flying into the air and out of sight. Peter's jaw dropped as he watched some civilians fly or run away at the speed of light, and others try and help, flipping the taxi right-side up.

_People, everyday people… with abilities? _Peter thought to himself, as some turned around to look at him, acknowledging that they were able to read his thoughts. He was speechless.

Peter had not expected this to happen. _What have I done?_


End file.
